Policy World

In two weeks’ time the IIC will be in Washington DC for our final Telecommunications & Media Forum of 2018; registrations are still being accepted and you can register here. The first session will examine, among other issues, data privacy – reflecting the importance that this has taken, not just in the TMT sphere, but in consumer consciousness as well. This month’s open access InterMedia article by Daniel Sepulveda argues that a regulatory balance is needed between consumer protection and the success of a data-driven economy. You
can read more about that below.

Privacy has been debated at our events around the world this year, as it has been debated in the media and in boardrooms globally. IIC Chapters around the world have also examined data privacy in some of their most recent events, and you can read their updates further down the newsletter. The IIC Australia Chapter and IIC Singapore Chapter are both holding events on the subject of data privacy as this newsletter goes out, and we look forward to seeing the reports of what their participants had to say on the issues. We will share any reports in the next edition of this newsletter.

Next month’s issue will focus on Artificial Intelligence: another theme on the agenda both in Washington DC, and also looking ahead to Asia 2019: four days of events in Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia, taking place from 12-15 February.

Whatever your priorities, it is likely that the IIC will be discussing them at a local, regional or global level at one of our events. To ensure that you are always kept up to date, I encourage you to manage your IIC communications preferences and to join the conversations now and in the future.

Our annual Washington DC TMF takes place on 4-5 December 2018. The programme for both days is available and includes sessions on privacy/cyber security, 5G and trust, facts and democracy, among others. Expert speakers are drawn from government, industry and civil society, representing a broad range of experiences and views. Speakers include FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, Lee Rainie of Pew Research Center and Microsoft’s Julie Brill. You can see the full list of confirmed speakers here.Register your place now.

Hosted by the Institute for Advanced Legal Studies (IALS), this UK Chapter event asks panellists to consider how harm on social media might be reduced while respecting fundamental human rights, asking if additional legislation is necessary, or whether there is a place for self- or co-regulation, or both. Chaired by Dr Rachel Adams of the IALS, the panel includes experts from academia, civil society and industry. You can learn more about the event or register your attendance here.

Daniel Sepulveda argues that, from an industry perspective, a regulatory balance is needed between protection and the success of a data-driven economy. The article also notes how consumers are taking matters into their own hands, utilising ad-blocking software in ever increasing numbers, and pressuring their legislators for change. He writes in the context of GDPR and other recent privacy regulation, which have elevated the issue in consumer consciousness.

On 31 October – 1 November, IIC Canada held its 16th Annual Conference, attended by over 250 delegates from all parts of the Canadian communications sector. The theme (Canadian Communications Policy & Legislation: Time for a Review) linked to the government’s establishment of an expert panel to make recommendations on changes to existing legislation. You can read the full report and see the programme for both days on our Chapter Events pages, here.

This 2 November event took place in the context of data protection legislation due to be enacted in Thailand. Participants discussed the opportunity to frame the new regulations as a competitive advantage, and comparisons and differences between it and the EU’s GDPR were examined. A briefing paper on the event is available here

This joint event between IIC Italy Chapter and AGCOM, the Italian Communications Authority, brought some 90 senior representatives from the TMT sector together in Naples on 8 November. In addition to the lively discussions, which you can read about here, the second awards of the Preto Prize for the Development of Communications Culture were made.

TRPC is a consulting firm run by Peter Lovelock, an IIC Director and Chapter Head of IIC Singapore. This report contains a digest of legislation, news stories and updates from 14 countries in the Asia Pacific Region.

Andrea Millwood Hargrave, IIC Director General, writes about how concerns around data breaches and privacy have led to the call from Doteveryone Chair, Martha Lane Fox, for a new technology regulator in the UK.

Each month we highlight some of the key regulatory news stories from around the world. You can view them all here.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has issued a consultation paper which seeks to analyse and discuss the implications of the growth of OTT services in the country. The regulator is seeking feedback from stakeholders on whether imbalance in regulation or licensing is impacting investment in telecommunication networks. Read more.